I think most people, at some point, have tried to keep a diary. Most people also gave up after a few days. Yet Facebook is like a diary that you’ll let your 900 closest friends read, and you have to try not to constantly write stuff on your page.
That realization made me wonder what it would be like if my grandparents had had Facebook pages in their teenage years. I would love to be able to read what they would have posted, or what videos and pictures they might have shared, if the technology had existed back then (in the case of my maternal grandfather, this would have been in from the 1880′s onward).
That made me wonder what my grandchildren will think when they read my Facebook page. Now, whenever I update my status or post a photo album I think about the people that might read it years from now.
The next time you type “OMG GOT SO WASTED LAST NIGHT LOL,” do think about your grandchildren before you hit the “Post” button. Of course, if you were partying with your grandchildren when you got wasted, well… okay, party on, I guess.
My elder daughter, a senior at George Walton Academy in Monroe, GA, is a member of the color guard on the GWA Marching Bulldog Band. This past weekend the band competed in the USSBA Southern States Championships in Chattanooga, TN, where they placed first in the Group VI Open competition with a score of 98.563, the highest score of the competition among all bands in all classifications. This is an amazing band that performs at a high level year after year, and I’m so proud to have gotten to know the directors, students, parents, and many others that make this band what it is.
This year’s show theme was “The Carmen Project.” The show mixed music from the opera “Carmen” with other Latin themes such as Ravel’s “Boléro” while interpreting the story of the opera. It was a grand and moving spectacle that just got better and better every time I watched it. My daughter played the role of Carmen, which of course meant she got to die in dramatic fashion at the end of the show.
Here is my recording of the winning USSBA performance. The actual show starts at the 3:30 mark; before that, you can see the band marching onto the field and doing their warm-up routine.
It occurred to me recently that I’ve been using the Internet for almost 18 years now. That doesn’t put me into any particularly elite category since there were a lot of users way before I came along, but it does make me feel old to know that there are students in college now who were born after I started using the Internet.
Are you an old hacker like me? You might be if you…
…Remember when the word “hacker” just meant someone who tinkered with machinery or technology.
…Had an e-mail address that didn’t have to have numbers in it to make it unique.
…First accessed the Internet through a Unix shell.
…Ran your own SMTP server.
…Remember when the web was not the same as “the Internet.”
That last one is particularly poignant. For me, 2001 was when the Internet, and by extension the web, ceased being some kind of new frontier. Maturity of a technology isn’t measured by people making a lot of money off of it, but rather by people losing a lot of money off of it. It was kind of hard knowing that I was out-of-work in a town (Seattle) where a barista at Starbucks probably had a better technology résumé than I did… and a job!
Just last week I became the last geek in the world to get a real smartphone (BlackBerries don’t count). As I marvel at all that I’m able to do with a remarkably inexpensive piece of equipment that can fit in my pocket, for which I’ve only spent a grand total of $2.99 in third-party software, I’m really glad that I’m an old hacker who got to watch this amazing world grow up right in front of me. You young kids don’t know how easy you have it.
(I’m sure there are a lot of you out there that were hacking in and around the ‘net way before I was. Let’s hear those war stories!)
I’ve just started creating a series of videos on Youtube on how to play the Eddie Van Halen instrumental “Spanish Fly” from the album Van Halen II. I’ve been promising these videos for about a year, after already having posted three different versions of the tune to Youtube (one at half speed). So far I have an introductory video and a video on the first section of the piece. By the time I’m done, I expect to have well over an hour’s worth of videos spread out over six to eight clips.
Ever since I was in high school, I’ve been drawing this little guy you see pictured here:
Smart Sam
My wife has named him “Smart Sam”. I finally applied for a trademark on the drawing, but the funny thing about trademarks is that you have to actually be involved in some kind of trade. So, now you can own your very own Smart Sam Stuff! I opened up a shop on Cafepress a while back but never bothered to publicize it until now. So, go grab a t-shirt, or a coffee mug, or wall clock, or maybe a onesie for Junior. If there is some other bit of clothing or gadget you’d like to see this beautiful face stamped on, let me know!
I’ve been signed to a new contract with my current client, on a new project working on self-service grocery again. This one should carry me well into next year, but I’m always keeping my eyes open just in case.
The George Walton Academy Bulldogs are GISA state football champions for the 2009 season! They defeated Deerfield-Windsor School in Albany, GA in the class AAA championship game yesterday, with a final score of 42-24. I am so proud of all the parents, grandparents, students, alumni, faculty, and friends who made the trip down to Albany, some of whom (like us) left Thanksgiving vacation early to be there. It felt like a home game: the fans were loud, the cowbells were clanging, the band played, the Dark Army ran up and down by the field, and the cheerleaders nearly fell over from doing high-kicks for every point scored. Hats off to Deerfield-Windsor for playing tough to the very end, and never giving up. Congratulations to both teams for making it to the championship.
Next year George Walton Academy will move to the GHSA, and will be returning most of their current team, so we look forward to more exciting football next season.
To cap off a fantastic competition season, the George Walton AcademyMarching Bulldog Band marched in a parade at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. My elder daughter, Madeline, is a member of the color guard, and my wife and I traveled down to Florida and watched the band march. It was a wonderful experience.
I tried to get some pictures (click the photo below to see them), but they didn’t turn out so well. Fortunately another band dad got some good video of the band (below).
Most of the band parents were running along the parade route, taking pictures and video, and when we ran out of sidewalk we just fell in behind the band. In the second video below you’ll see Jennifer and I sharing a laugh with some other parents about plowing our way through the crowd to keep up with the band. I sure hope Disney lets us come back!
I’ve been assigned to a new project through the end of 2009 so I’m unavailable for now, but if I’m not picked up for an extension I’ll be looking for new projects in 2010. Take a look at my resume and let me know if I might be a good fit for any contract or consulting opportunities in your organization. I’m currently W-2 with a small consulting company, but I’m open to 1099 or corp-to-corp starting next year.
Hey, band, you just won the USSBA championship. What are you going to do now? "We're going to Walt Disney World!"
Congratulations to the George Walton AcademyMarching Bulldog Band for taking first place in the Group VI Open division of the USSBA Southern States band competition this past weekend in Chattanooga. My elder daughter, Madeline, is a member of the color guard. They put on a fantastic show, winning caption awards for overall effect, percussion, and music. They also won the Marine Corps Esprit de Corps award. Way to go, band!
